Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,320 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after acquiring an additional 29,246 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its position in Hershey by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 100,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,660,000 after purchasing an additional 17,890 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $972,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,383,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.21.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

HSY opened at $199.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.91. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $213.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.